By Christie Slaton Zgourides
Jamaal Trell, Executive Program Leader of Limitless Leads Coaching, LLC, explains how the DiSC Assessment enhances team dynamics, improves hiring decisions, and strengthens communication, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs, leaders, and educators. Joining the discussion is guest co-host Liliana Rojas, Property and Casualty Producer at HUB International, along with host Marc Ebinger of Crükus Virtual Staffing and Jenevy Sims of Evolve Firm.
DISC Assessment for Hiring Staff and Advising Entrepreneurs
Marc opened the discussion by stating that he uses DiSC Assessment for all hiring “because I found it to be supremely valuable in helping clients choose the proper candidates for the proper roles.”
Jamaal, “Coach Trell,” explained that DiSC Assessment was introduced to retired military leadership about ten years ago to help them understand their staff members and how they learn. Particularly critical is learning to communicate with people from different ethnicities, personal or economic backgrounds, financial situations, etc.
The DiSC Assessment helps determine individuals’ behavioral tendencies and their primary characteristics, such as how they want to be communicated with. Such understanding helps interaction and communication, creating stronger teams. Jamaal explained that they also have an entrepreneurial DiSC process that helps determine the best option for individual skills.
He says, “If you have a young person who doesn't necessarily know what they want to do, but they're driven, they can take the entrepreneur DiSC report. Their personality assessment will break down what they like to do, what they want to do, and what they don't really care a lot to do, and recommend an entrepreneur program.”
Components of DiSC Assessment
What exactly are the DiSC components or behavioral styles? Jamaal explains:
D: Dominance
This type wants to ensure that they control everything going on, but they also give others the information simultaneously. They are likely someone who owns the conversation, such as a results-oriented sales executive.
i: Influence
This type is social, people-oriented, and prone to collaboration.
S: Steadiness
This type is cooperative, able to go with the flow, and more common than some other types. Jamaal notes, “You always have one or two in the room.”
C: Conscientiousness
This type is conscientious, analytical, and detail-focused.
Jamaal pointed out that it’s possible to be a combination of D and I, for example, or even 25 percent of each one depending on what you need to do for that environment.
The Value of Identifying DiSC Types
A person who wants to be at their computer, be left alone, and pay attention to the numbers is more introverted; that's not going to be the dominant person. “This is why we should understand the role of the company and then understand the person and marry those two together,” Marc said.
Jamaal agreed and said they look at the DiSC benchmark report with the HR department, then sit down with the leadership and hiring teams to determine the right staffing mix and the right balance of personality types. He noted they want the right chemistry and don’t want to mix oil and water.
Frequency of Disc Assessments
Jenevy noted that people continually evolve, develop different skills, and become better. She asked, “How often do you do the benchmark assessments for these employees?”
Jamaal said that personally, he does the assessment every six months, depending upon his goals and objectives. He asks himself, “Am I on the trajectory to meet those goals? And if not, what did I deviate from the plan? How do I get back on track for a company again, finding the objectives and goals? Once we write down the map of how we will get to that, we can go with the follow-up assessments.”
For his clients, Jamaal says follow-ups can be set on a quarterly or monthly basis. It depends entirely on how fast clients want to track the data or how soon they want the feedback to see if it is being tracked and is on the right target.
Follow-up is essential for determining if staff is retaining information and being productive. Jamaal emphasized, “It’s about the follow-up, continuously following up.”
Marc said he uses DiSC Assessment when hiring and filling roles, but he does not use it for follow-up. He also noted that the assessment is a guideline.
Role of the Assessment Coach
The coach comes into play to help companies follow up, hold them accountable, and provide checks and balances. Leadership may assume that staff is doing a great job, but they must go back and complete a follow-up. That not only helps the company but also helps the person. Follow-up can identify ineffective communication. If there is no follow-up, the company won’t give them feedback, and the staff won’t know whether they are doing tasks correctly.
Liliana asked for clarification on the coaching process, mainly if CEOs are more of a C or D, how will they communicate with I and S salespeople?
Jamaal explained that it requires a sit-down conversation, which examines the company, the goals, and the problems, and then determines what is best for the situation. If communication is identified as a problem, “we can play this leadership game, communication edition that I brought today. The problems can be identified without calling anyone out. What's the climate? Is it communication? Is it leadership? Is it lack of? And once we identify that, we can tailor this communication game.”
This is only one of many tools Jamaal uses, but the game is effective because it creates a fun environment that is less threatening. As a coach, he can ensure the boss and the people in the job are being taken care of. They all have an outlet, pressure relief.
DiSC Assessment for Sales
Shifting the focus, Marc asked, “If somebody's going into a sales role, where should they be in the disc assessment, in your opinion?”
Jamaal explained that he also uses the Disc sales impact report. During the hiring process or onboarding, the person can take that assessment, which shows where they are and where they need to be — a roadmap. Again, this can be done without singling out one individual.
Marc pointed out that the assessment would, and should, influence the decision-making process in hiring: “I think that if I'm hiring a sales rep, I'm not going to look for the C or the S. I'm looking for the D in the I, right?”
However, Jamaal takes a different approach and says your best interest is building those people because you will have to teach them something new regardless. Hire who you want to hire, and “We can help you once they get in the door as far as making them a better and more productive employee. So the benchmark, that's what you'll use when you sit down with the HR department.”
Assessing Leadership
You may have a team that needs improvement, or maybe you're trying to improve an individual in charge because they may hit that threshold, that ceiling where they aren't progressing anymore.
This may be a direct reflection of your leadership. This report can say, “Hey, this is how you should engage this individual to be more motivated and dedicated. This person has that within them, but you didn't know how to pull it out of them.” This is where Coach Trell comes in and says, “I got you.”
Jamaal will also work on the leadership's skills at the same time because if you're the boss and people aren't necessarily performing up to their standards, then it's probably something that you're not doing correctly as well. So instead of pointing the finger at other people, Jamaal could come in and help the team as a whole.
In this situation, the team impact executive report addresses the leadership, the functionality of the team, and how all those pieces can be pulled together and make your team thrive in 2025.
Hiring for Sales
Marc turned the conversation back to hiring for a sales role and asked, “What on the DiSC Assessment should the HR department be looking for in that hiring process?”
Jamaal clarified that there is no specific verbiage regarding who should be hired. Instead, the DiSC reports identify strengths, such as dominance and influence, but that may only indicate motivating people to sell, not necessarily an eye and closing the deals.
You are unlikely to get the complete package you're looking for, which is where that report comes in again to build that team. The goal is not to eliminate anyone. It's looking to build the whole person.
Marc noted that he has seen the DiSC Assessment used not to eliminate someone but to identify the strongest for a particular role, such as dominance and influence when it comes to rules. But, as Jamaal points out, whether you are focused on elimination or selection, someone is not going to be chosen. The focus is on finding the person you want and then building and expanding their talents.
Versatile Application, Not Deciding Factor
Jenevy noted that this is a versatile application and not the deciding or determining factor for hiring.
Liliana agreed and explained that in her sales work, most of the salespeople on her team are Is and Ds, and they work in pairs because some people are more Cs than Ss. From her sales perspective, she sees that everyone is a salesperson, including entrepreneurs who have started their own businesses. She asked, “How does a C, S, or maybe even a D sell themselves, and how do they work with the others?”
Jamaal said the answer to that question is a whole coaching program: “The first step is to identify that they need help. Once we identified the need to help, we would sit down and develop a program. There is no way to say this is exactly what we'll do and they'll be great in 35 days. It doesn't work that way.”
Liliana then asked, “What are some of the pitfalls with I's trying to reach out to C's or D's and S's? What are some of the things people fall into?”
The key is to understand that there is a gap and to bridge that gap with communication. This may mean putting information on each person’s cubicle to identify how they connect.
Marc noted that in these situations, Ds have to be exceptionally sensitive to how they communicate because they're dominant. They must avoid being confrontational, especially when communicating with an S. Use a friendly conversational tone. Be relaxed in your approach, which can be difficult for a D to do.
Again, Jamaal emphasized that everyone would first take the assessment, go over the documents, and understand the full process.
DiSC Assessment for Personal Relationships
DiSC can also be applied to couples, families, and other relationships because all relationships involve communication. Everyone in the family can take the assessment and learn how to communicate with each other, including communication between parents and children.
In their discussion, the hosts and guest shared their experiences and how the concepts are simple enough to teach in school and should probably be taught at a young age. This would provide another way to learn teamwork and leadership unrelated to extracurricular activities or sports.
Jamaal explained he has been trying to get into the schools to start with the staff, particularly to bridge the gap between older and younger teachers. Although he has been actively networking, no opportunities have opened up yet.
Peer Advisory Groups for Accountability
Jamaal’s coaching programs also include the option for peer advisory groups. Groups of six to eight professionals from different industries meet, not for networking but to maintain objective accountability.
He will host and coach the group, providing guided discussions, and the real value will come from the group itself. Each person in the group can recommend a location for the monthly meeting to change the environment, and it gives them a chance to show their world to others in the group. This process helps open everyone up.
He currently has two groups going and hopes to have three per quarter. Groups are organized based on leadership roles; for example, one group is for C-suite executives. Participants are chosen through a question-and-answer process, followed by a selection process. Participants sign a contract ensuring confidentiality.
Jamaal pointed out that the group members may need to be reorganized to promote new ideas and growth. Other details of the groups are being redefined to meet ongoing needs, such as duration, in-person or online meetings, etc.
Meet the Guest and Hosts
Jamaal “Coach” Trell, Executive Program Leader of Limitless Leads Coaching, LLC, is a retired military veteran from Chicago. He is a performance coach and certified DiSC consultant in addition to being a certified benchmark and interview consultant, corporate etiquette and protocol expert, and executive program leader with The Maxwell Leadership Certified Team. He can be reached at 210-724-4474 or realorlive.org.
Marc Ebinger, the Let’s Talk Business podcast host, is a former USAF Veteran, retired police sergeant, public speaker, and networking expert. He is also the founder of Crükus Virtual Staffing, a company that supports insurance agents and business owners by providing virtual assistant staffing solutions. Crükus helps clients save on labor costs and increase efficiency by matching them with experienced overseas administrative assistants who handle tasks ranging from policy management to client communication. https://www.satalkradio.com/
Jenevy Sims owns Evolve Firm, a marketing agency that creates strategies to help businesses grow and adapt. Jenevy brings a unique perspective to digital marketing, emphasizing the importance of a well-rounded approach that integrates content, SEO, and customer reviews. With a keen understanding of evolving marketing trends, she guides her clients in establishing a robust digital presence while staying grounded in authentic, community-focused engagement. theevolvefirm.com/
Liliana Rojas is a property and casualty producer at HUB International. She is a St. Mary's University graduate with a finance and risk management degree. She is developing a podcast for “30 under 30” entrepreneurs focused on the plans and achievements of young business leaders. Her pastimes include golf, advocacy, and playing bass guitar.
Christie Slaton Zgourides, owner of Christie Zgourides Editing, is a writer, editor, and author coach with over 30 years of experience in business and academic settings. She has taught writing and editing in university composition courses and has edited a wide range of content, including digital articles, self-improvement books, professional journal articles, memoirs, and fiction. Christie helps authors transform their ideas and passions into publishable manuscripts and works with businesses to create engaging blogs, video scripts, and other essential documents. czediting.com
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